Our Advocates

Professional Information:

Year of Call: 1990
Devil Masters: The Hon. Lady Smith; Sheriff I A S Peebles, QC
Qualifications: BA (Oxon) (Hons) in Law; LL.B (Dist); Dip L.P. Lord Reid Scholar on admission to the Faculty  


Biography:

Neil Beynon maintains a practice which is focused on commercial disputes of all types, but especially those which concern heritable property, shareholder/director/fiduciary and partnership disputes and construction matters. Many of his cases have involved substantive planning law issues. He has also developed a separate expertise in offshore related matters concerning both contractual issues and personal injury claims. 

He has appeared in the House of Lords, High Court of Justiciary, Inner House of the Court of Session (generally without Senior), Outer House (mainly Commercial Court), Sheriff Court, Employment Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunal and in Adjudication, Arbitration and Licensing Board procedure. 

In addition Neil Beynon has substantive experience in regulatory crime, having acted for the defence in environmental, fishing, construction regulation and trading standards prosecutions most of which proceeded to trial. 

His opinion practice includes trust and executry matters and drafting/revising or advising on deeds and contractual/commercial documentation. 

Recent work has included acting as sole Counsel for a substantive shareholder of a large Scottish private company in a multi jurisdictional dispute concerning shareholder, trust, employment and corporate governance issues. 

Neil’s main interest outside legal practice is music, and choral music in particular. He has conducted the Faculty of Advocates Choir for the past four years. Under his direction, and with the support of the Faculty’s Office Bearers, the Choir has continued to provide an annual charity concert at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh. These concerts have raised many thousands of pounds for Edinburgh City Mission, a charity which helps some of the most disadvantaged people in Edinburgh. During this period the Choir has performed Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (2006) and sung in leading Churches in Paris, Rome and Venice as well as at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.  


Illustrative Cases: 

1. Primary Health Care Centres (Broadford) Ltd v Ravangave and others [2009] SLT 673: Landlord and tenant; partnership; defence of res judicata invoked successfully.
2. Ward v Norwich Union [2009] CSOH 27: Personal accident insurance; causation and exclusion clause issues.
3. Aitken v Standard Life Insurance [2008] CSOH 162: Pension contract; implied term and unilateral obligation issues.
4. Seabourne Developments Ltd v The Shiprow Development Company Ltd [2007] CSIH 90: missives; occupational leases. 
5. DFR Properties Ltd v Glen House Properties and Others [2007] CS 74: heritable property; implied term issue. 
6. Liquidator of Tay Square Properties Ltd, Noter 2005 SLT 468: insolvency; whether company director obliged to answer questions on oath in liquidation process.
7. Howie v CGU Insurance plc [2005] CSOH 110: buildings and contents insurance; relevance of international authority; Commercial Court.
8. Sietech Hearing Ltd v Borland and Others [2003] CSOH: breach of implied contractual duties; intellectual property claims. 
9. Cyma Petroleum (UK) Ltd v Total Logistics Concepts Ltd 2004 SLT (Sh. Ct.) 112: procedure. 
10. Sykes (S) & Sons (Fish Merchants) Ltd v Grieve 2002 SLT (Sh. Ct.) 15: standard security; effect of unopposed calling up notice. 
11. Evans v Argus Healthcare (Glenesk) Ltd 2001 SCLR 117: servitude; missives; implied conditional waiver. 
12. City of Aberdeen Council v Clark 1999 SLT 613 (IH): rent review: stated case and subsequent arbitration. 
13. Wadbister Offshore Ltd v Adam 1998 SLT 1230: Environment Act 1995; amendment of complaint by Crown.